My experience with making has gone from zero to sixty in just a matter of days. Well, maybe not from zero but darn close to it! I have always been creatively inclined so the fact that I am getting my feet wet with software and hardware that puts the power of creation in my hands is beyond awesome. Just tinkering with TinkerCad (Hah!) and following instructions to prep my creations for printing has opened so many doors. It’s crazy to think that my ideas can be turned into physical, functional objects in a short amount of time. The whole learning experience is empowering!
Not only can I bring my own ideas to life, but it is sweet to know that I have the ability to bring the designs of others into the real world with sites like Thingiverse. Here are a few products I thought were particularly cool (potential gifts for family and friends)!
1. Bat Signal for mobile phones
First off, I’m a HUGE fan of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy so this object hits close to home. It’s especially cool in that it can be used with most any smart phone that has a flashlight. A lot of items I’ve come across are phone specific (not necessarily bad) so I like the flexibility this object has. I’ve only played around with CAD slightly so I am interested to learn the process of designing and prototyping an item like this. Is it just a matter of trial and error until the desired effect is achieved?
2. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:548230
Easy birthday present for my brother. This plane is not only great for flying (according to the reviews) but also looks sleek as heck. This is one of those objects that I would that has pretty specific instructions for the thickness of the print at different points. The trial and error required for this product must’ve been quite the hassle. Then again, I’m no engineer so I have a hard time wrapping my mind around the creation process. How does the creator figure out the correct density and thickness for each portion aside from guess and check? Regardless, I may be printing this one in class as a gift.
Gift for mom? Well, to be honest, I can’t see her using it that much. Regardless, I love the utility of this object. I’m sure everyone has experienced heavy plastic bags tugging on skin and ripping because of pressure. This is a perfect example of the current state of consumer 3d printing. That is, this is a functional, extremely simple product that members browsing Thingiverse can potentially use to improve their quality of life. It isn’t reinventing the wheel or just acting as a crappier version of something you can buy at the store. Rather, its a unique item that once printed can be put into use immediately.
4. Tower of Pi
March 14th is coming up! A good gift for that special mathematician in your life… In all seriousness, this item is incredibly cool. The comments on the item indicate it is very difficult to print. Maybe not an item I should tackle just yet. I suppose it would require certain levels of support to achieve the aesthetic. I think with my current skills I would run into problems printing a solid square so I’ll walk before I can run. Nonetheless, this object is proof that if you can think it you can make it.
Love the pi pencil holder! Such a great idea! Maybe I’ll send a printed-pencil-holder-letter to my grandmother 🙂
Love the bat signal. It gives me an idea: what if I scale it and change it so it can fit into the bowl of my desktop lamp? That would be cool.
How cool would it be to have a math teacher/professor with a pi pencil holder?! I personally own a pi pencil that would sit nicely in a pi pencil holder. I agree that it would be incredibly hard to make, but it would 100% be worth it. Also, if I could successfully make this one day, my uncle would be all over it bragging how much of it he could recite.